Binghamton looking to keep up with appearances

Binghamton has hired private companies to do lawn maintenance on city-owned properties so Parks & Recreation Department employees can spend more time fixing code violations on private properties.

Crews pour a new curb at 16 Baltimore Ave. in the city after the vacant home was demolished this spring due to flood damage. Binghamton is trying to clean up the city and get as many properties back on the tax rolls as possible, Mayor Richard David said.
(Photo:
KRISTOPHER RADDER / Staff Photo
)

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The city has contracted out maintenance for city-owned property lawn work to private companies.

Mayor Richard David said a rise in code enforcement violations for private properties led Binghamton officials to consider contractors to perform routine city maintenance, which includes mowing lawns, trimming bushes and removing vegetation.

If a private property has uncut grass and broken windows that aren’t being taken care of — vacant or occupied — the responsibility to repair the code violations is passed to the city Parks & Recreation Department. Department employees board up the windows and mow the lawn, and in turn, the property owner is billed for the work.

“We’re seeing more and more issues related to code enforcement,” David said.

Bill Barber, city director of Parks & Recreation, said particularly troubled properties can hold up department crews for extended periods.

“We could send several crews out for several days on one or two properties,” Barber said.

Here’s how it works: once code enforcement receives a complaint, a notice is sent to the owner, who has between 24 hours to 15 days until its reinspected, depending on the violation. If there are still violations on the second inspection, a work order to correct them is sent to the parks department and the property owner is charged.

City Supervisor of Building Construction, Zoning & Code Enforcement Tom Costello said the majority of complaints deal with exterior deficiencies, though code enforcement officers also inspect the interior of buildings.

“That’s what people can see from the street so that’s what they’re going to complain about,” Costello said.

Freeing up time for parks department employees should have a positive impact on the state of the city’s 33 parks and the backlog of code enforcement properties.

“It allows us the time to do a better job on some of the older things that have been neglected in the past,” said city Park Maintenance Supervisor Paul Palmer.

Demolitions on city-owned properties in the spring knocked down 18 houses damaged by the 2011 flood and another eight blighted buildings were torn down in July and early August.

Once the houses are demolished, the city has two courses of action for the properties, David said. If properties are grouped together, they might be used a single, large parcel for redevelopment.

For more isolated properties in a residential neighborhood, the property is being offered to neighbors as increased lawn space. David said it would be ideal if the empty lots were redeveloped into new residential housing, but he doesn’t see that as a feasible option.

During the summer demolitions, 4 Yager St. was slated for demolition and neighbors were informed. During the July 21 city council work session, resident Jason Marsh made an offer to purchase the property.

Marsh wanted to keep the garage on the property and the sale was approved by City Council with the garage for $2,300 at its Aug. 20 meeting.

David said selling city-owned properties to neighbors like Marsh, who could not be reached for comment for this report, is ideal.

“When these properties are land-locked between residential homes that are in very good condition, that’s really the best you can hope for,” David said.

The city’s aim is to get as many properties back on the tax rolls as possible, David said. This also helps reduce the workload of city employees contending with hundreds of vacant properties.

With better upkeep of city-owned properties and quicker response times to code violations, officials hope it could create a ripple effect across the city.

“If the city property looks better, the neighbors will maintain their properties to a higher standard,” Costello said.